small crowd

If I told you that the lowest-attended worship service of the year at BSM was Mothers' Day, would you believe me?  Now I'm not sure if this is exactly true or not, but since I've been here at least, this was one of the lowest attended days of the year.

In other churches, the sunday after Easter may take this award.  For others, it's some day in June or July when people are on vacation.  However, BSM happens to be on Mothers' Day.  This is strange to me because I am used to the culture of Mothers' Day being the day you go to CHURCH and LUNCH with your mother/grandmother/aunts/etc., complete with cards and flowers.

Perhaps it was the evening service that made attendance so low.  Perhaps it is the fact that many of our usual attendees are young adults, most not yet mothers who were able to travel away for the weekend.  However, this doesn't quite explain the drop in our homeless guests, right?  Why would they have anywhere else to go?  Aren't they rejects that have no "home" to go to?

One thing I've learned a lot about from the guests we meet is that this stereotype is far from the truth.  Most of our guests have very large families in the city, whether it be their parents, their own children, or siblings, that love them very much.  Some may be isolated and alone, others may be alienated from these families, some may refuse to re-connect.  However, the absence of our guests from dinner tonight made me think that the connection of family is difficult to break, no matter what the circumstance.

Our guests go through trauma every day.  Being treated as sub-human will do this to you.  However, at the end of the day, they've got mothers or motherly figures out there to love and accept them.  This Sunday showed that this love is real and they are willing to make room to spend time with these families.  

Church is realized in these moments as well when you see who does show up for service.  They show up because they may be far away from family.  They may not have family.  They may see BSM as their family.  Either way, being in each other's presence is the true realization of the body of Christ.

Blessings on the love of Mothers and Motherly figures out there.
...and blessings on those without either in their lives, that they may find that love within community.

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Apologies for the long posting drought, I have them from time to time!  I p

I am working hard as usual at BSM/ASPC.  I will remain here through early August, doing most of the same work, with a few new opportunities that I will explain soon.  Broad Street Ministry will celebrate it's 5th birthday this upcoming Sunday, so we've got a lot to work on!